U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister, R-Swartz, canceled a scheduled appearance at the North Central Louisiana Tea Party meeting in Ruston in favor of family counseling. / The News-Star file photo

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Fifth District U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister continued to dodge constituents Monday, ditching a scheduled appearance at the North Central Louisiana Tea Party meeting in Ruston in favor of family counseling.

Tea party member Bob Flournoy said a McAllister spokesman told him the embattled congressman will be in family counseling most of this week following last week’s video showing McAllister kissing married staff member Melissa Peacock in the Monroe District Office. Peacock has since resigned.

McAllister, R-Swartz, didn’t travel to Washington to vote last week. Congress is out this week for Easter recess.

Neither McAllister nor his chief of staff Adam Terry could be reached for comment.

“I thought it would have been a good thing for him to show up and face his constituents, and his staff told me last week he planned to be here,” Flournoy said. “He has to get out and face the people sometime.”

Flournoy declined to comment on whether he believed his congressman should resign, but he did say, “I’m very disappointed in him. He let us down.”

Flournoy, a Ruston businessman and consultant, said the 5th District has been mostly without a voice in Congress for the past eight months following former U.S. Rep. Rodney’s Alexander’s resignation last August.

Alexander, R-Ruston, took as job as Gov. Bobby Jindal’s secretary of veterans affairs. The seat was empty until McAllister won a special election and was sworn in Nov. 21.

“We’re sitting here during an important time without representation in Washington,” Flournoy said.

Last week Alexander told The News-Star he might consider running for his old seat, but Monday said he won’t seek office again.

Ed Tarpley, former district attorney of Grant Parish, announced his intent to run in the upcoming race on Monday.

“It is becoming apparent that our country needs representatives in the Congress with a conservative background in the application of the law in both civil and criminal matters, Tarpley said in a statement. “We are going to have to be able to set forth the people’s position and their rights under our Constitution.

“I believe I have the legal experience as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney to be able to argue for the enforcement of existing law while defending the rights and freedoms of the individual guaranteed under our Constitution.”

He said his goals include overturning the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passing tax reforms and restoring budget cuts that have affected the military.

McAllister has been under siege since the video was made public.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has called for him to resign, and called McAllister an “embarrassment,” as has Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Roger Villere.

But so far McAllister and his staff have withstood the barrage and continued to say the congressman doesn’t plan to quit.